Running Cell Phone Scams

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:01]Plaintiff Aisha Troder says she's known the defendant for eight years. And although he used to be a drug dealer, she thought she could trust him because he got a job. Aisha claims she added the defendant to her cell phone account, but he stopped paying the bill. So, she's suing him today for the unpaid bill and defamation.

[00:00:20]Defendant Antoine Wright says he's done a lot of things in his past that he's not proud of, but he's turned his life around. Antoine claims the plaintiff is nothing but a scam artist who opened up the cell phone account under a phony business name. Antoine's counter suing for defamation because he claims she's spreading rumors about him being a drug dealer.

[00:00:40]>> Start with you.

[00:00:41]>> Um, I've known Antoine for about 8 years. He's been a friend to me and my boyfriend Carl. Um, he used to be a drug dealer, but he got a job.

[00:00:50]>> He got a job. And >> he wants to respond to that.

[00:00:52]>> Okay.

[00:00:53]>> That's a lot. You know, I was in my past, I did a lot of things, you know, but I grew up and I grew out of that stage, you know, so when we knew each other, it was not like that.

[00:01:01]>> All right. And now that she's talked about your character, you have the right to talk about her character if you like to.

[00:01:07]>> Well, you know what, Yiana, ever since I met these guys, they really been running scams. They they they just been doing things that uh >> they whom her and her witness.

[00:01:16]>> Her and her boyfriend. Yeah.

[00:01:18]>> They've been nothing but doing scam.

[00:01:19]Matter of fact, the whole uh account that we have set up with Nexttail, it was in a phony business name as it is.

[00:01:26]>> No, they're suing me for something.

[00:01:27]>> The phone bill that she's suing you for, >> it's actually in a fictitious business name as it is.

[00:01:32]>> You want to respond to that?

[00:01:34]>> Um, I have IRS papers. It's under my name. The business is under my name. I have a tax identification number and everything for that business, sir.

[00:01:39]>> Okay. Go ahead, ma'am.

[00:01:41]>> So, let's get to the phone bill or whatever else you'd like me like for me to know.

[00:01:46]>> Well, basically, in Are you a scam artist?

[00:01:47]>> No, I'm not, sir. All right. In December 2006, I was uh approved for five lines under Nexttext. Antoine asked me could he get on one of the lines. I took him to the Nexttail store with me. We got on the lines together. Now, we were we made we talked about the conditions of the phone, which were to pay your bill on time and to stick to the we had to commit to a two-year contract.

[00:02:10]>> Let me have that. You have >> Okay. Yeah, the phone bills. Yes, I do.

[00:02:14]>> And what happened? Um on May 31st of 2007, his line was suspended for non- bill payment. Um on June 8th, I received a call from Nexttail. They said, "Okay, you have till the 10th to pay the remainder of this of his account, his line by June 10th, or each line will be disconnected."

[00:02:32]On June 15th, to make a long story short, he gets a new phone on his wife account, and I was left stuck with the total monthly reoccurring charges for the phone bill.

[00:02:40]>> That's a lie, honor.

[00:02:41]>> What do you want to tell me about it?

[00:02:43]Actually, how how that occurred was they disconnected my phone. I sold my phone.

[00:02:49]I wasn't trying to stiff or anything. I sold my actual phone. I had a uh 8 I80.

[00:02:54]I sold it for 100. They actually sold it to one of their cousin or something for >> You got the money?

[00:03:00]>> No, I didn't get the money. I gave they they they put the money towards the bill. I gave them some money I had in my pocket was like >> How much was your bill?

[00:03:06]>> My bill was like 203. I gave him only thing it was left it was left for like $44 that uh that I actually owe towards that bill like $445. Is that true?

[00:03:16]>> That's correct, your honor. But I I had to pay that out of my pocket. So we I we talked we were >> So why wouldn't he just owe you 44?

[00:03:24]>> Because this is the deal. We were on a contract phone. So therefore, if just say if I didn't pay my bill, I would still receive a monthly reoccurring charge because it was on a contract on >> and he agreed to be a part of that.

[00:03:36]cont. Yes, it was a 2-year contract agreement that we went through. You agreed to be a part of that contract.

[00:03:40]>> I agreed to be upon uh on the contract.

[00:03:43]>> So, why should you owe for the entire contract?

[00:03:46]>> If I to be honor, I they cut my phone off. I was asking them after they paid the bill. We were still cool, you know, and I was like, "Oh, you going to cut the phone off?"

[00:03:55]I'm asking her boyfriend, asking her, "You going to cut the phone?" "Yeah, we're going to cut your phone on. We going to cut your phone on. We going to cut the phone on. We going to Yeah, we going to The bill was paid. You know, the new bill hadn't hadn't even came out yet." I'm like, "What they say? We're going to cut your phone on. We're going to cut your phone off. It kept saying this for at least 2 weeks before my wife went and bought me another phone before at least and then to have it cut on.

[00:04:15]>> I paid I paid the uh No, they didn't say they never said nothing about $44.

[00:04:19]>> Okay. But they never said anything.

[00:04:21]Well, you know, >> didn't it make sense to you that in order to get my phone cut back on, I have to pay my phone bill?

[00:04:27]>> Yes. Yes, you're right.

[00:04:28]>> That did occur to you.

[00:04:29]>> You're right, Ariana. And they were saying turn it on. They turned it on.

[00:04:32]They didn't turn it on cuz they didn't want to turn. Why didn't they turn it back on?

[00:04:36]>> Oh, they didn't turn it back on because obviously they didn't want me on their plane anymore like they were telling people. No, that wasn't The case was only owed.

[00:04:42]>> Why didn't you turn his phone back on?

[00:04:44]>> Because he owed money.

[00:04:50]>> State your name.

[00:04:51]>> My name Carl Cap.

[00:04:52]>> What do you want to tell me?

[00:04:53]>> Uh, I want to tell you that the it's a monthly reoccurring bill that come every month. That's why the bill >> that's most folk bill study >> come every month.

[00:05:02]>> Anything else? No, not really.

[00:05:03]>> Thank you very much.

[00:05:06]>> Ma'am, do you want to tell me anything other than phone bills come every month?

[00:05:14]>> Oh, >> state your name.

[00:05:17]>> My name is >> What else? What do you want me to know?

[00:05:20]>> Well, I want you to know that I bought Antoine another phone after they cut his phone off. I went to the store and purchased him another phone.

[00:05:27]>> That's what he told me. And also I've been getting like they've been threatening me, calling my phone, harassing me, leaving I don't know why >> you never bo ask.

[00:05:37]>> I mean I don't they not my friends.

[00:05:39]>> Yeah, but why do you call me like this and harass me? I haven't done anything.

[00:05:43]>> Well, no, I haven't done anything. I don't have anything to do with >> me to ask them why they harassing you.

[00:05:48]>> Well, I mean I can I haven't seen that.

[00:05:50]>> Ask him now.

[00:05:54]>> You want me to ask them now? Yeah, if you don't know, ma'am, if somebody's harassing you and you don't know why, the best thing to do is ask.

[00:06:04]>> And you haven't asked in all this time giving you a chance today.

[00:06:11]>> Calling Aisha, why have y'all been calling my phone threatening me?

[00:06:14]>> You have not received a phone call from me. No, you did not, girl. I have not.

[00:06:18]>> Now, sir, you're counter suing for a cell phone bill, a deposit, and defamation. What cell phone bill do they owe you for?

[00:06:26]>> Actually, I'm not suing for the cell phone bill. Actually, the startup of a new service cuz I had service and I was doing >> You want them to pay for the startup of your new service and you needed new service because you failed to pay for that service to them resulting in your phone being cut off. What defamation do you want, sir?

[00:06:43]>> They're going around telling people that I'm such a bad person and that I'm doing illegal things out here, which I'm not.

[00:06:50]>> Like what?

[00:06:51]>> Selling drugs. And I'm not I'm not doing that anymore. You know, I I changed changed my whole thing all around. I'm working.

[00:06:56]>> You telling people he's selling drugs?

[00:06:58]>> No, I don't have to tell anybody anything. He used to. I mean, they knew it.

[00:07:01]>> He said you telling them now.

[00:07:03]>> No, that's a lie. Your honor, >> telling people how they going to get a statement from anyone that says any of this.

[00:07:09]>> All right.

[00:07:10]>> Actually, our friend didn't want to get in the middle. I can't really understand that. She's saying it now.

[00:07:15]She admittedly said she said you used to. You admit you used to. So, that's not defamation. It's nothing. That's untrue. And your defamation is for what?

[00:07:25]>> Um, he was telling people that I was a con artist.

[00:07:28]>> You have a statement showing that he told someone that.

[00:07:30]>> How did it damage your reputation?

[00:07:32]>> Um, he asked a mutual friend of both of ours to uh cooperate a letter stating that I was a con artist and all I did was talk about him and that they would split the winnings. And that's a statement from his mother because the phone conversation was >> that damaged your reputation. With whom?

[00:07:47]with a lot of people cuz he was asking a lot of people for those letters but we actually heard him.

[00:07:51]>> Do you believe she's a con artist?

[00:07:53]>> Yes, I know she is.

[00:07:53]>> All right, ma'am. His belief or his opinion is not defamation.

[00:07:59]>> Defamation is someone saying something that they know to be untrue in effort to uh uh to hurt your reputation. So his opinion is that you are. And if you could prove today that he knows what he said was untrue, then you'd have a defamation claim. But he really believes it. He's saying it here. It's what he's saying here is his opinion. So I can't grant you defamation. $325 for the phone bill. I believe he owes you. Your claim is dismissed. Sir, you can't sue her for a cell phone startup for your new phone because she had your old phone cut off because you failed to pay.

[00:08:45]Your defamation claim is dismissed as well. 325 for the plane.